Page 43 of Xefe
With those sharp teeth.Ouch.
After a few minutes, the itch that had been a constant, never-ending thorn in my side disappeared. The bugs were gone. I hope. “Thank you so much.” A few tears leaked down my cheeks.
Baby immediately licked them off my cheeks.
Gross.
Before I could figure out how to live with the pango tribe forever, they fluttered their wings in unison, creating a terrifying buzzing sound.
“Earther!” Loxo’s voice boomed through the tunnel. “I know where you are. My First will be furious when he learns you escaped me. Come back. Now!”
Shit.Normally, I wouldn’t care about what he wanted, but what if he got mad enough that theotherLoxo showed?
I scrambled to my feet and shooed the pangos out of the way. “Gotta run. Thanks for the help with my hair. I’ll put the word out. For sure. You have a business card? No? Okay, move, please. I have to go.”
King Pango cocked his adorable head to the side. “He bad spikes?”
“The warriors? Bad? Yeah, sort of. They’re after me. I have to try and return. Back to my prison cell.” My jumbled words were a mix of pango and English. I hoped they could guess what I meant.
“Help? You?”
“Yes, help. Please.” I hooted and Baby scurried up my shoulder.
The pangos moved as one, swarming down the tunnel, eventually passing by the sharp turn I’d run through. I stoppedand looked into the pitch-black passageway. “I’m supposed to go this way.”
“No. Danger. Here.” They flew out of sight.
Only Baby and I were left behind. Deciding they hadn’t let me down so far, I followed and my next step dropped me in a gooey hole. A portal! The air was snatched from my lungs. I pulled Baby off my shoulder and clutched him in my arms. I fell into a familiar void where voices whispered in my ear, tugged at my hair, repeating,Danger.
CHAPTER 19
Oomph.My asshit the hard ground. Baby stayed put in my arms, tittering and sniffling my wrists, completely unconcerned. My first thought?What the hell is in those portals?No, I was going to leave that for another day. My brain was at maximum capacity with the pango language, plus figuring out how to save Baby and me.
Next thought? Heat. Unending, sweltering, sauna-like heat, along with the most addictive scent. It was like I’d landed in a bowl of sexy potpourri. But this smell didn’t have a layer of old sweat underneath it like New Angeles. It was scintillating. Masculine grunts and low moans bounced around me. I couldn’t make out any movement in the pitch-black tunnel, but the sounds were kind of… scandalous.
Where am I?
“Screech. Come. Now. No safe.” King Pango stood in front of a hole that had the consistency of shimmering oatmeal. Another portal?They’re everywhere!
A booming roar split the air.Dios mío, I knew that sound. Someone was doing the one-handed dance with no pants, and I wasso temptedto investigate.
“Come. Bad spikes here. No good. Bad place.” The king screeched and disappeared through the opening.
I trusted the pangos, so I booked it toward the portal with Baby cuddled in my arms. As I neared, the opening shrank. By the time I skidded to a stop, it was only a little bigger than a doggy door. What if it took half of me with it? I reached in,but my shoulders were too wide. I felt tiny hands tugging at my fingers, trying to pull me through.
“It’s too small.” The well-meaning pangos forgot how much bigger I was than them. I pulled back and said, “I’m not going to make it.” I kissed Baby on the temple and prayed the king would catch him on the other side.
“Mama!” he screamed and was sucked into the eddy.
My heart broke, but I believed Baby was safe. Now that the portal had disappeared, I heard more grunts and groans. Stumbling forward, I approached a large glass dome. Most of it was covered in dirt, but I had a perfect vantage point on top of a fishbowl-shaped lab below me.
Way below.
I could see rows of warriors standing in high-tech pods. They resembled human-sized charging stations—a square box with wires and tubes shooting out of it and into the warriors’ bodies.
What kind of Frankenstein shit is this?
Aavvee scientists, with their stupid capes, walked the room, observing and screeching back and forth to each other. I didn’t bother to translate after a few words. It was always the same and never good. Plus, there was no sign of Freckles or the one wearing pants.
